Eagle permits could help developers
Fifty thousand bald eagles - plenty of them at the Juneau landfill - prove that the national bird isn't endangered in Alaska and never has been.

Photo: Off and running
Election signage lines a vacant lot as a runner passes by Sunday in the Vintage Business Park. Tuesday's primary elections will have voters selecting presidential, U.S. House and Senate, Alaska House candidates and four ballot measures.

Photo: Close encounter
Two tourists follow a young black bear Sunday as it crosses the road at the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center.

Assembly puts playground on ballot
Voters in October will be asked whether they want to fund part of a new covered play area at Dzantik'i Heeni Middle School, the Juneau Assembly decided Monday.

Offer to accused drug dealer withdrawn
The lawyer of alleged drug smuggling ringleader Aaron Washington said in court Monday that his client was ready to take a state's deal and plead guilty to drug dealing charges.

Photos: Preparing for the primary
Reliable Transfer employees Matthew Austin, left, and Ray Rice set up the Mendenhall Valley No. 1 polling place Monday in the Mendenhall Mall. Below, Stella Barton casts her absentee ballot for the primary election at the Mendenhall Mall. The primary will be held today.

My turn: Consider the Russian side of conflict
Russia is not being given fair treatment over the Georgian/Ossetian problems in the Caucuses. The press is not to blame. It goes deeper than that. There are very serious problems with the West.

Outside editorial: The right age for drinking isn't 18
College officials who have signed on to the provocative proposition that the legal drinking age of 21 isn't working say that they just want to start a debate. Perhaps when they get done with that, they can move on to whether Earth really orbits the sun. Any suggestion that the current drinking age hasn't saved lives runs counter to the facts.

Is this the age of autocrats?
Are we entering the age of the autocrat? It's certainly tempting to think so after watching Russia's recent clobbering of Georgia. That invasion clearly marks a new phase in world politics, but it's a mistake to think that the future belongs to Russian strongman Vladimir Putin and his fellow despots.

Biden's toughest opponent: himself
In selecting Sen. Joseph Biden as his running mate, Barack Obama gains some needed foreign policy expertise, but loses some credibility. If Washington is as bad as these two say it is, was Biden a contributor or an enabler during his six Senate terms? If 36 years in the Senate doesn't make you an "insider" and part of the problem, what does?

Forest Service will close 95 road miles
KETCHIKAN - The Ketchikan-Misty Fiords Ranger District of the U.S. Forest Service will cut its maintenance costs by closing 95 miles of roads in remote areas.

Dairy plant receives $1.5 million bid
ANCHORAGE - The Matanuska Maid dairy in Anchorage will likely be turned into a heated self-storage facility now that the state has received a minimum bid for the plant.

Cab driver finds body in parking lot
ANCHORAGE - An Anchorage cab driver found the body of a man in the parking lot of a midtown Anchorage apartment complex, and police are considering the death a homicide.

KFC-Taco Bell combo opens in Kodiak
KODIAK - Residents of Kodiak are standing in line for popcorn chicken and double-decker tacos, courtesy of two new fast food options in town.

New Frontier
BARROW - Rapidly melting ice on Alaska's Arctic is opening up a new navigable ocean in the extreme north, allowing oil tankers, fishing vessels and even cruise ships to venture into a realm once trolled mostly by indigenous hunters.

BP official says Alaska pipeline fixes on target
HOUSTON - BP is on target to finish replacing and fixing miles of pipeline on Alaska's North Slope, about two years after corrosion-induced leaks crimped the nation's oil supply and prompted harsh criticism of the company, the chief of the oil giant's American division said Monday.

State Fair volunteer struggles after fall
ANCHORAGE - A Palmer man with a long history of volunteering at the Alaska State Fair is struggling to recover from an injury suffered while replacing poles used in the fair's lumberjack show.

Photo: Whale carcass discovered in Kodiak
A dead humpback whale lies Aug. 19 on the beach at Fort Abercrombie State Historical Park in Kodiak. The 30-foot, 2-year-old whale was discovered Aug. 14 and has probably been dead for about four weeks, district park ranger Kevin Murphy said.